Making The Cut
by Cookie-chi
Summary: She wanted to be legendary, but how would she get there? And more importantly, could she really make the cut? [ItaTen] [Tenten orientated]


**Making The Cut **_(ItaTen)_

_**A/N I know…you must think I'm crazy for writing about such a crack pairing…and truth is, I don't even like this pairing, bu-ut, this is for a certain fangirl who does. Yeah, you know who you are!! **_

_**Anywho, on with the story!**_

OOOOOOOOOO

The sun was just beginning its course southbound, leaving a glowing trail of oranges and reds in its wake as it fell behind the hills and houses of Konoha. By now, the shops were empty and closed, and everyone had retired to their dwellings to rest their feet as another day had ended. But this was not the case for a certain brown-haired kunoichi; she smirked knowingly…

Her day was only just starting.

Her blues sandals slapped against the cobbles of Konoha's streets for the last time. Her hazel eyes scanned the blithe birds that tumbled across the sky, and then her eyes fell to the streets she'd walked on for so many years, streets that had worn out her shoes and had many a fond memory. She sighed, knowing she'd miss this place…But, she couldn't become legendary by staying here could she?

Tenten was not going to be the next Hokage, not when there were characters like Naruto wondering about. She would not be the next Tsunade (to her dismay), not with fists as powerful as Sakura's.

No, Tenten needed a different route. One that hadn't been woven out by her, but one that had…_intrigued _her. It had intrigued her with piercing red eyes and mid-length tendrils of ebony. Now her mouth formed an arc, bearing the whites of her teeth as she smiled…This route would be the more pleasurable out of any other, and she had willingly let herself be captured by it.

The shadow that walked behind her was long and drawn out as light that seeped through gaps in the buildings tried to push it back, tired to push _her _back. She continued to walk though, in utter silence, until a reminiscing detour caught her eye.

"Should I?" She asked herself, as a steady gust of wind picked up stray bangs and whipped them off of her eyebrows for just a second. She furrowed her features; contemplating a walk through team Gai's training ground before she departed. There were many dear memories here, but quickly she tossed her head back and fourth, she needed to let them go now…it was just another part of history…And in time, she would be too.

She remembered watching their backs for years, as Lee displayed the utmost strength, and his never-ending determination, he didn't need hand-seal after hand-seal to win a match. And Neji, the prestigious pride and joy of the Hyuuga clan, elegantly spinning on his hell and being able to see everything in a light others simply couldn't comprehend. They'd both had their time to shine.

And now, it was her turn.

She told herself, she was independent, and striding on for her own purposes, because she was a girl, and she had to prove she could live up to the boy's. But, in her heart, Tenten knew she would not just be satisfying herself, but him as well. Her head seemed to speak in unison with her heart, and whether it mattered or not, she found herself enjoying it.

She wondered if they'd miss her as her eyes caught the sky, a sea of red clouds hovered over the vision. But with more steps, towards a desired path she'd chosen in life, the red clouds seemed to disappear, and then reappeared more vibrantly, with seams of white on a cloak of midnight, flapping against the gentle torrents of the wind.

She said his name, but it was carried off by the wind somewhere along the way…Nevertheless, he had spotted her and turned as they stood on the peak of a hill. She brought her arms up to her bare arms, but gasped with they were quickly covered by a cloak so similar to his own.

His eyes did not show kindness, only an empty look, and possibly lonely, after having lost his Akatsuki partner the previous month. He looked drained even…but Tenten didn't mind, he had to be professional, and so did she…even if she felt a small shiver where his steady palms held the cloak to her shoulders. She would be taking the place of a great fighter, and hoped to live up to the name of 'Kisame'. It rung in her head and made her feel a pang of guilt…but, Itachi didn't seem to mind, besides, hadn't he been the one to suggest it after their last encounter?

It was mission after mission, trying to eliminate Akatsuki once and for all, she had tried to dive in with new attacks, to show her cell what she was really made of…but they got in the way of her limelight, and eventually…She managed to get the Uchiha alone, to show him her growth from a mere adolescent being. He noticed the change it seemed, and time and time again she seemed to grow tougher and tougher, but…never too tough.

Secretly, she hadn't wanted to kill him, not that he would ever let her, mind. But, it was obvious he already knew this when he made the proposal.

She'd be a traitor to say yes, but she felt she was being kind in the process too; she was filling a void in this man's life, now he wouldn't have to suffer the journey of Akatsuki alone. And she was kind to leave everyone to get on with their hopes and aspirations, surely she would've tried to snatch them away for her own glory, so that someone…_anyone_ would just notice her. That's all she wanted, acknowledgement, and that's exactly what he had given her that day. How could she say no to that?

Yes, things were defiantly better off this way.

"Are you ready?" He asked her, and she simply nodded in reply. Again, her vision just saw clouds as he now stepped in front of her. His hands left her shoulders, and were not un-tying her forehead protector that gleamed under the setting sun.

She watched with careful, examining eyes as the Uchiha drew a kunai, the tip of which dangled above the metal of the leaf symbol. He was going to take her for good, cut away every bond she'd ever made in Konoha, make her one of them…

And she couldn't wait.

"No," He paused, to her utmost surprise as she dared to let her eyes been entranced by the crimson pools of his bloodline. The forehead protector was slung back into her hands and her heart gently began to sink…was he rejecting her? Was she not worthy of the title he was about to bestow upon her?

He managed to surprise her again when he also gave her the kunai. She looked at it like she'd never seen one before, which was odd. She was after all, the mistress of weapons, she heave them from the ground and back up to the heavens, she'd dance with them like they were blessed tools to use at her every whim, because that's exactly what they were… No one could control a blade like her; no one rivalled her precision, nor her movements to slice the air with her projectiles. Her accuracy and manoeuvring of weapons was flawless, or so she'd been told…

So maybe that was why he offered her the weapon.

"You do it." He told her, silently answering her question, and no longer could she stop the curve to her rosy lips as metal hung over metal, and in one blow, the cut was made. There were no hesitations in her mind. And for the first time, she managed to catch him smile right along with her.

Could she make the cut?

"Welcome aboard."

Of course she could.

OOOOOENDOOOOO

**_A/N: Ack, that's it, sorry for all the Tenten babble, eh…whaddya think? Review and let me know n.n _**

**_Ja ne!_**


End file.
